News

Discussion Paper Released by Commonwealth Government

22 September 2011

The Attorney-General, Robert McCelland, and Minister for Finance and De-Regulation, Penny Wong, have today launched a public discussion paper to seek community views on the consolidation of Federal anti-discrimination laws. The release of the Consolidation of Commonwealth Anti-Discrimination Laws Discussion Paper marks the first step in the Government's formal consultation process since the announcement of the "Consolidation Project" in April 2010. Submissions on the discussion paper are due on 1 Feburary 2011 and will inform the development of exposure draft legislation, which will be released for public consultation in early 2012. Visit the following links on the Attorney-General's website for a copy of the media release and discussion paper.

The Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC has advised that the Australian Government will not proceed with the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 at this time. In its place, the Australian Government has introduced legislation into Parliament to expand the protection against discrimination on the grounds of 'sex' to include sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status.